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MIT commencement disrupted by pro-Palestinian protesters [1]
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Date: 2024-05-30
About 100 more protesters, graduates, and their relatives, many draped in red or black keffiyeh, circled the yard, waved Palestinian flags and posters overhead, and joined the forceful chant.
Just as keynote speaker Noubar Afeyan was invited onto the stage, dozens of students stood and chanted: “Free, free Palestine.” Thousands of family members and friends who joined 3,666 graduating students for the Killian Court ceremony looked on in silence.
CAMBRIDGE — The Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s university-wide commencement became the latest graduation celebration disrupted by pro-Palestinian protesters Thursday afternoon with a couple hundred demonstrators walking out of the ceremony and a lone heckler calling out the school’s president, Sally Kornbluth, who was later also cheered by graduates.
At the center of the demonstration, parallel to the stage, about 10 students held a large banner that said, “You can’t suspend the movement.” A few in the audience cheered. Four Israeli flags appeared in the crowd,
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A few minutes in, music began to play from speakers.
As protesters marched out they joined another group assembled outside the gates of Killian Court on Memorial Drive, where families had entered through security tents minutes before. They held a banner that read: “MIT engineers genocide drones.”
In unison, they thundered: “Shut it down.”
They marched to Massachusetts Avenue and stopped outside the steps of the Lobby 7 building, where dozens of students occupied the crosswalk and blocked traffic.
“Disclose, divest, we will not stop, we will not rest,” they called out.
The commencement demonstration capped a tumultuous few months on the campus of one of the world’s top universities.
Protesters pitched the first tent on Kresge Lawn in late April, marking the beginning of a pro-Palestinian encampment that lasted 20 days until police cleared out the demonstration in the early-morning hours of May 10. Ten students were arrested.
Students involved with the protests want MIT to end research projects that tie the university to Israel’s Ministry of Defense, but weeks of negotiation proved useless.
Though college campuses across the country saw similar encampments erected this spring, MIT issued penalties harsher than any other institution in the state. Student organizers and professors say the university placed about 20 students on interim suspension, effectively banning them from campus buildings, graduation, and their final exams and projects.
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Those placed on interim suspension say they can no longer receive wages for student jobs, and most have been told they need to vacate their university housing.
Despite the din of the protesters outside Killian Court on Thursday, inside, the program continued on.
Noubar Afeyan was the keynote speaker at MIT's commencement. He acknowledged the dozens of students suspended by the school. Barry Chin/Globe Staff
”It’s a special honor to be with you today,” said Afeyan, an entrepreneur responsible for over 70 life-science and technology startups. “At a time when the world is beset by crises, your mission is nothing less than to salvage what seems lost, reverse what seems inevitable, and save the planet.”
“I know the odds don’t appear to be in your favor,” Afeyan continued, “but this age of polycrisis is also a moment of poly-opportunity, fueled by artificial intelligence, machine learning, quantum computing, and other modern technologies that are changing the world faster than people believe is possible.”
Afeyan acknowledged the dozens of students suspended for refusing to vacate a pro-Palestinian encampment on campus on May 6. He said that as an Armenian descendant of genocide survivors, he deeply feels the “wounds” of the conflict.
“I know many of you here, and some in the class of 2024 not with us here today, are deeply troubled by the conflicts and tragedies we are witnessing,” Afeyan said. “I wish I had answers for all of us, but of course, I don’t. But I do know this: having conviction should not be confused with having all the answers.”
When Kornbluth approached the podium, but before she could get a word out, someone screamed, “Shame on Sally!”
In an effort to drown out the single protester, hundreds of students broke into applause and cheered Kornbluth onto the stage, repeating, “Sally! Sally! Sally!”
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Sally Kornbluth, MIT's president, was heckled by one person during the commencement ceremony. But then some graduates began chanting her name in support. Barry Chin/Globe Staff
Kornbluth described MIT as “a place that does not shy from complexity, a place that embraces the hardest problems.”
”You’ve revealed places where our understanding may fall short,” Kornbluth said. “You’ve shown us that we need to reflect more deeply and be willing to assess and reconsider long-held beliefs.”
Trey Gurga, who graduated Thursday with a degree in aerospace engineering, posed for photos with his family after the ceremony. He said although student protesters caused a scene, Kornbluth handled the disruption well.
“It was nice to hear the chants for Sally,” said Gurga, 21. “A lot of people are in support of her on both sides, and so it was cool that she got recognized for that and was able to continue.”
Gurga said he was disappointed that protesters interrupted the ceremony but said the commotion didn’t overshadow the celebratory nature of the day.
“Though it interrupted the ceremony and set the vibes off a little bit, I think it’s still good that people are able to use their voices,” Gurga said. “It’s still powerful from both sides in order to have those demonstrations.”
Gurga’s mother, Kim, traveled across the country to attend her son’s graduation. She said the pro-Palestinian action “saddened” her and set a worrying precedent for the future of student protests.
“These students did not get a high school graduation,” said Kim, in reference to the COVID-19 pandemic that canceled many ceremonies, or forced them online, in 2020.
Kim said she cried during the demonstration, adding that it wasn’t “a positive moment for anyone.”
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“I know it’s a time in history and that’s where we’re at, I’m just sorry for my specific family member and the people around him that worked so hard to have those moments taken in that manner,” she said.
Victoria Santiago, 29, who received her master’s degree in city planning this week, left the ceremony early with her parents to take to Massachusetts Avenue.
”My parents are really proud,” Santiago said as they marched. “I told them that was the plan, and they were like, ‘Yeah, we support you, and we will be there as well.’”
Protestors walked across the Harvard Bridge to the Esplanade to drop roses in the Charles River after walking out of the MIT commencement ceremony. Kayla Bartkowski For The Boston Globe
Lila Hempel-Edgers can be reached at
[email protected]. Follow her on X @hempeledgers and on Instagram @lila_hempel_edgers. Madeline Khaw can be reached at
[email protected]. Follow her @maddiekhaw. Tonya Alanez can be reached at
[email protected]. Follow her @talanez.
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